Want to improve your knowledge of tinnitus?

Well-known tinnitus specialist Dr. James Jackson is to host a training workshop for healthcare practitioners and audiologists interested in improving their knowledge and practice around tinnitus.

The workshop, titled ‘What to do for patients with tinnitus?’ will run on Saturday June 29 at Leeds Trinity University’s Main Campus in Horsforth. Jackson is a Reader in Psychology at Leeds Trinity. The one-day aims to improve treatment efficacy for tinnitus patients in West Yorkshire and beyond by empowering GPs, audiologists, and other healthcare professionals to better serve patients.

Workshop includes a one-year subscription to a tinnitus relief app

The programme will include sessions ranging from addressing dissatisfaction in patients with tinnitus, to improving sleep quality, boosting referral networks and current tinnitus treatment pathways. Delegates will also benefit from a session on career development, qualifications and business practice, and receive a free one-year subscription to Tinnibot, an effective and evidence-led tinnitus relief app. Dr James Jackson is a Clinical and Scientific Advisor for Hearing Power, the makers of Tinnibot.

Dr. Jackson said: “I am pleased to have the opportunity to offer this training, which is the result of a previous workshop I delivered that helped me to identify a demand in tinnitus-focused training for healthcare professionals.”

Tinnitus is not a priority of primary care

Dr. Jackson points out that he has collected much data about levels of dissatisfaction in tinnitus patients.  “With the NHS already under pressure, there are clear issues with the primary care pathway for patients with tinnitus,” he stresses. “The current onus is on diagnostics and not on how best to cope with this distressing and chronic condition. This leads to perceived lack of support and increases mistrust across the healthcare profession. I hope to see many delegates from Leeds and West Yorkshire join us for the workshop to improve their understanding and treatment of tinnitus,” continued Dr. Jackson. The workshop will address proposed solutions to the problems revealed by the aforementioned research.

© Tinnitus UK Dr. Jackson discussed the condition on the BBC TV Breakfast show during Tinnitus Week in February 2024.

Dr. Jackson will be joined in giving the workshop by fellow Leeds Trinity University academics and Senior Lecturers in Psychology, Dr. Jamie Cruickshank and Dr. Alyshia Murgatroyd-Giffen, as well as Consultant Audiologist and Hearing Therapist, Henrietta Roe. The latter points out that “the incidence of tinnitus has increased significantly as a consequence of endemic noise pollution in our physical environment and an ever more stressful social environment. As a result, more and more people are going to audiology clinics for hearing issues beyond the basic need for a hearing aid to treat hearing loss”.

“Because of this,” adds Roe,  “we need to increase the knowledge and expertise that exists within the audiology profession by focussing on how we treat hearing issues, including tinnitus, which is why delivering this workshop and raising awareness is so important. My objective is to help audiologists better provide advice and treatment to their patients who present with hearing issues.”

Book a place on the workshop via the Leeds Trinity University online store.

Source: Leeds Trinity University